Clovis girls edge Portales in opener

CLOVIS — Opening night doesn’t reveal everything about the season that lies ahead, but it can be somewhat of a barometer, giving teams an indication of what they can become.

The barometer reading for the Portales and Clovis girls basketball teams in Friday’s season opener at Rock Staubus Gymnasium may bode well for both, as the Lady Wildcats prevailed 46-45 on the first night of the Foxy Drive-In Shootout.

The Lady Rams — with a mostly different team than the one that captured a state 4A crown last March — showed that despite their youth, if they keep battling they might contend, because they battled back twice in Friday’s game and nearly pulled it out.

The Lady ’Cats — dealing with the suspension of five players for disciplinary reasons — showed that they can overcome that kind of adversity. And the younger players who stepped up showed that Clovis is deeper than people might think.

Overall, a decent opening night for both teams.

“We’ve got a lot of growing to do. We’ve got a lot of inexperience for a varsity team,” Portales head coach Wade Fraze said. “But I did see that progression throughout the game. The longer the game went, I thought we got a little more confidence and started doing things right more often. I saw growth, I did see growth. And that’s what we’re going to need to see every practice and every game.”

On Clovis’ side, the five punished players — including two starters — might have had egg on their faces had the rest of the team not come together and warded off two Portales rallies like it did.

“Oh gosh, with the girls that we had suspended tonight I was pleased as I could be with the girls that had to step up, play roles that they’re probably not going to play,” a nearly-hoarse Clovis head coach Jeff Reed said. “So, big win without those (suspended) girls tonight. ... Overcoming the adversity, it was really good because we got the win, but we were also able to find out what some of these other (reserve) people have.”

Clovis’ people had just one more point in them than Portales’ people, but that’s all it takes to win a game and start 1-0.

Twice the Lady Wildcats seemed ready to start pulling away — when Mikyla Harkley’s first-quarter trey gave Clovis a 10-4 lead, and in the second half after a 12-0 run turned a 29-26 Wildcats deficit into a 38-29 Wildcats lead.

Portales had actually trailed 22-16 early in the third quarter, before outscoring Clovis 13-4 through the rest of that period. But Clovis junior guard Cierra Jenkins opened the fourth-quarter scoring with a jumper that pulled the Lady ’Cats within one and kick-started that 12-0 spurt.

Harkley kept it going by coming up with a steal, driving to the hoop and drawing a foul. She hit one of two from the line with 6:51 left in the fourth, tying the game at 29.

Roughly 30 seconds later, a fast-break layup from Harkley put the Lady Wildcats back in the lead, 31-29, and nearly 30 seconds after that, a pair of Aydan Everett free throws made it a four-point game.

A Harkley foul shot with 5:19 to go stretched Clovis’ lead to five, and soon afterward she went slashing to the hoop for a layup that gave her team a 36-29 advantage.

The run was complete with 3:26 remaining, when Everett canned two free throws, giving Clovis a 38-29 lead.

Portales, though, pecked away and pecked away. Taylee Rippee — one of the few holdovers from last season’s state championship team — scored off glass to finally halt Clovis’ surge, and during an 11-4 run that brought Portales within two, Rippee scored nine points. She would finish with a game-high 27.

“I’ll tell you what, that Rippee girl is something else,” Reed said. “We knew coming in; it wasn’t like we didn’t know. We just couldn’t do anything to stop her, we didn’t do anything to stop her.”

Another fast-break layup from Harkley put Clovis up 44-40, but Rippee answered and shaved the difference to two again.

After a timeout with 40 seconds left, Clovis inbounded the ball, and Harkley was fouled with 37.8 seconds remaining. She missed both free throws, but Jenkins was there for a big offensive rebound, starting a new Clovis possession that ended with a Harkley layup and gave Clovis a 46-42 edge.

A foul shot by Portales’ Taris Rippee with 22.7 seconds left brought the Rams within three, and after collecting a steal off the ensuing inbounds pass, Rippee scored again to bring Portales within a point, 46-45.

Another Clovis turnover followed and again Taylee Rippee had the ball, but this time Harkley blocked her shot, preserving the Lady Wildcats’ lead. Harkley soon had possession and was fouled, but missed both free throws with 6.6 seconds left. Rippee grabbed the defensive rebound after Harkley’s second miss, but only had time to heave a shot from way downtown.

It missed and Clovis had survived opening night.

“I was pleased with the way we pulled it out,” Reed said. “It’s always good to open up with a win.”

Everett led the Wildcats with 17 points, followed by Harkley with 13.

Rippee was the only Ram player in double figures, but the whole team had showed Fraze something with its two comebacks.

“Just a few breaks here and there go our way and it’s a W instead of an L,” Fraze said. “But at this point, whether it’s a win or a loss, I feel like today’s a win because I saw growth and I saw a little maturity as we went through the game. The longer it went on, the better we played.”